Zoo News

Sunday, 21 February, enthousiastic IVN-Zooguides organize a public tour through the Rimba and the Mangrove in Burgers' Zoo.

The biggest number of species is found in Southeast Asia. This is the area where wetlands turn into tropical rainforests. Here you also come eye to eye with viviparous plants, two types of man-eaters, apes with glasses and a 'marksman' and maybe even a forestmonkey.

You do not have to reigster for this tour, all you need is to have a valid entry ticket. The tour starts at 11h00 at the beginning of the the Rimba.

Nowhere in Europe can you find such high numbers of Humboldt penguins than in Emmen Zoo. The 10 chicks that were born increase the colony in Emmen to a total of 136 birds, the biggest colony of Europe.

Not all eggs have hatched yet. Alert visitors will see that in a number of holes there are still penguing couples breeding. To ensure that the new born chicks grow well and stay healthy, a special fatty fish is fed to the penguins these days, including a bit more vitamine.

As Emmen Zoo has such a big group of Humboldt penguins, they are the European Endangered species Programme coordinators of this penguin species.

A sad day at Artis Zoo on 25 December 2009. The resident hippo Tanja passed away that day. She was 49 years old! Tanja was born in Artis (2 June 1960). She already had some problems with her health for a little while. In consultation with the vet, it had been decided to not lot her suffer unnecessarily any longer.

Asian lion cub Naui and her mother Shantee present themselves to the public in Rotterdam Zoo. Until now they stayed in the nursery behind the scenes. Due to the cold weather they so far remained inside though.

A Czech zoo plans on Saturday to move four extremely rare rhinos to a Kenyan reservation in a last-ditch effort to forestall their extinction.

The four animals - two males and two females - belong to the northern white rhino subspecies that is presumed to have been wiped out in the wild by poachers.

Only eight, mostly old animals are known to live on earth at the moment - two in the Wild Animal Park in San Diego and six in the Dvur Kralove zoo in the Czech Republic.

The Czech zoo plans to fly the last four fertile northern white rhinos - females Fatu, 9, and Najin, 20, and males Suni, 29, and Sudan, 38 - to the privately-owned Ol Pejeta reservation in central Kenya in the hope that a change in their living environment will trigger their reproduction.

'Every time one was born it was a result of some change,' zoo spokeswoman Jana Mysliveckova said.

Breeding the endangered subspecies in captivity has proved a struggle. Only four were born in Dvur Kralove in the north-eastern Czech Republic since the zoo began raising them in 1975. The last offspring was Fatu, born in 2000.

'On average we had one birth per decade. That is no success,' said the zoo's chief zoologist, Pavel Moucha.

While in captivity, the females produce insufficient hormones needed for pregnancy. As a result, they are unattractive to the males, he explained.

Even if the animals do mate in captivity, low hormone levels can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting itself in the womb. Repeated attempts at artificial insemination have also failed.

'Assisted reproduction is not going to save this subspecies. It only delays the end,' Moucha said.

Zoo officials still harbour hopes that a handful of northern white rhinos in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo have survived poaching, and that they might be brought to the Ol Pejeta conservancy for breeding with the Czech group.

However, trackers failed to confirm the most recent sightings of three animals in Sudan in 2008.

'There are plans for a team to go in next year and try to confirm if there are northern white rhinos,' conservancy spokeswoman Elodie Sampere said. 'But for the moment we consider them extinct in the wild.'

Moucha said it would be a success if the Dvur Kralove animals at least conserve their genes through crossbreeding with 11 southern white rhinos that live in the Ol Pejeta park.

The long journey is planned to start on what promises to be a frosty Saturday morning in Dvur Kralove, where the rhinos are to board heated trucks and be escorted by police to Prague's international airport.

A commercial cargo plane will make a special stop in the Czech capital to pick up the precious load, which should reach its destination around noon on Sunday.

Twenty-degree temperatures, fresh grass, corrals and a fenced-off run are ready for the rhinos at their new home, where they will be monitored and guarded, the zoo said.

It may take up to two years for the newcomers, three of them born in Czech captivity, to fully adjust to the new environment.

But the project also has its critics and opponents. It has sparked a scientific debate worldwide as well as a charged controversy at home.

A group of Czech activists highly critical of the current zoo leadership, Safari Archa 2007, has attacked the transfer as too dangerous for the priceless beasts.

'They take a risk with treasure,' activist and former Dvur Kralove zoo employee Roman Komeda said. 'Aside from Sudan, the oldest male, these animals have never seen Africa.'

The activists fear, Komeda said, that poaching and disease could threaten the new arrivals - claims that are rejected by the zoo.

Some rhino groups, such as the International Rhino Foundation and Save the Rhino, view the Kenyan park as safe for the foursome but are skeptical about whether the move could solve their reproductive problems.

The critics see the project, whose total cost the zoo puts at 300,000 dollars, as a waste of money that could have been used on rhino-saving missions with greater odds of succeeding.

But the zoo officials are unwavering.

'I understand the opponents. It is risky,' chief zoologist Moucha said. 'But it is the only chance to help these rhinos.'

Nonja (born April 21 1976 in Vienna) is a female Orang Utan in the zoo of Vienna. She became known for being the ape having her own Facebook page. The zoo provided her with a special camera, enabling her to take digital pictures, which subsequently were uploaded to her facebook page.

Nonja was born in Vienna's Tiergarten Schönbrunn and grew up alongside her mother. However she was raised by the zoo's personnel as well. At some point when she was with her stockmen Nonja picked up a brush and made some attempts to paint. After that incident the zoo provided her for a while with a regular opportunity to paint or rather let her play with painting utensils. The zoo managed to sell some of her creations for prices of up to 2000 Euros.

In 2009, the zoo provided Nonja with a special camera with a wifi connection and encouraged her to take pictures in her enclosure. The camera is a special shock-proof one and releases a raisin when a picture is taken. The pictures taken by Nonja are getting automatically uploaded to her Facebook page, which currently features several thousand visitors a day.

Three lion cubs were born in Planckendael on 16 October 2009. They were vaccinated today against feline distemper. After the mother was reunited with the cubs, everything appeared fine until she suddenly killed her cubs.

For an unknown reason, the mother must have felt the vaccination to be disturbing and as a result killed her young to avoid spending energy in a litter that she thought would not make it anyway.

Plackendael staff will investigate the procedure of the vaccination, which had been applied previously and has been used in other zoos, to try to find out possible causes.

It is not only unfortunate for Planckendael but also for the breeding program for these highly endangered Indian lions. Only in the Gir Forest Reserve in North West India remains a small population.

The coming months are going to be exciting in Blijdorp. Is Tania, the polar bear, pregnant or not? Tania has retreated into her nursery for the winter rest. The burrow is foreseen with camera's so that keepers can keep an eye on matter.

During the christmas holidays, visitors can see the nursery through the monitor's and maybe even witness a birth. In the past, a number of polar bears were born at Blijdorp, including Tania.

The Asian Lion cub from Blijdorp is a little girl and has in the meantime named Naui which means "Nine" in Hindu. The keepers have chosen this name as Naui was born on 09 September 09 or also 09-09-09.

Naui weighs in at nine kilos now and still stays behind the scenes. Visitors can admire her via a monitor in the inside enclosure.

Giraffe Clarie gave birth to her sixth young in the night from 30 November to 1 December. Only a couple of weeks ago did Giraffe Ilona give birth to her third young.

Ilona gave birth to a healty boy named Mosi whereas Claire gave birth to a little lady named Nuru which means "Light" in swahili. She was given that name as she was born during the China Festival of Lights that can be seen at Emmen Zoo since 10 November. Little Mosi's name means "First born" in swahili.

Kina means small one. She is on the smaller side, hence the name said a spokesperson from the zoo. Kina is doing well and is protected well by mother Indra.The other two elephants from the herd, aunt Mimi and grandmother WarWar are allowed to come near the newborn too.

WarWar trampled the first baby of Indra. Now the two ladies don't seem to have a problem with eachother.

Ouwehands Dierenpark in Rhenen has to pay a € 40.000 fine for breaking the dutch "flora and fauna" law.The zoo imported in 2006 two african elephants from whom the papers where not in order on arrival. The elephants had wrong papers from the so-called CITES bureau that regulates international trade in endangered plants and animals.

Ouwehands zoo reported the incident themselves, and has legalised the elephants by now, but have to pay a fine anyways

On 25 September 2009, a tapir was born in GaiaPark. For a few days mother and son can regularly be seen ouside now.

Young tapirs have distinctive white stripes and spots on their black fur. In the thick rainforest, where tapirs live, this marking has a real good camouflage effect. After about two months their the patterns start disappearing and after 6 months they are as good as gone. Tapirs are tropical animal. To protect the young against the harsh dutch autumn and the cold nights, it can only be seen outside during good weather.

Photographer, Jan Vermeer will be the guest at Burgers Zoo on Wednesday, 16 December 2009 at 19h30.

Jan Vermeer is mostly known from his readings over his polar trips that he has made in recent years.

The reading will be of animals in the Veluwe, Brasil, Suriname, Guyana and Peru for example but also of the mountain gorillas in Uganda and his expeditions to the special Aldabra. In short, a very promising evening.

Reservations for the readingAbbonnement holders can attend the reading for free, other interested parties pay EUR 2.50 per person from 19h00 onwards.

Both, abbonement holders as well as other interested parties need to get in touch prior to the event, via email info@burgerszoo.nl or by phone via 026 - 445 03 73. Reservations are necessary in connection with the available seating.

It was a surprise for the keepers because they were not aware mother Willy was pregnant. It is a little boy and received the neam Wingu. The first six month a baby totally stays with its mother. From 6 months to 3 years, the young goes exploring or playing but always within the safety distance of its mother. After 3 years, the young will walk around by its own through the enclosure.

A Pygmy Hippopotamus has been born at Blijdorp Zoo and she has been named Flory. Mother Janneke and her daugther are doing well. Pygmy Hippos are considerably small compared to their bigger cousins .

The keepers emptied the waterbassin because offspring are always born on dry surfaces and only later look for water. In place of the bassin, mother and daughter can walk through refreshing water sprinklers.

For mother Janneke, it is the third young. Father Jip does not help in raising his young and has moved to the adjourned enclosure. Pygmy hippos are by nature solitary animals that only get together during the mating period and go their own ways again after that. That means Janneke is on her own to raise her baby but as experienced mother that should be no problem.

Pygmy hippos are considerably rarer as the regular hippos are and their way of life is as such also different. Whereas normal hippos spent pretty much all their time in the water, are their smaller cousins a lot more outside water which is why Blijdorp changed the hippo enlosure to better suit them, i.e. replace a lot of water with 'land'.

Four tiny veiled Chameleon were born at Blijdorp Zoo. They can be seen by visitors in the special breeding space for reptiles in the Rivierahall. The veiled chameleon belongs to the bigger species.

The male can grow to 40 cm excluding the tail, the females get to about 30 cm. The four new ones are with their 3 cm real miniature versions of their parents. As small as they are, they also can change colour quickly and can launch their tongues superquick to catch insects.

Gorilla female N'Gayla gave birth to a healthy offspring during the night from 24 to 25 August 2009. The gorilla baby can now be seen by visitors of the zoo. Although the sex is not yet determined, biologists have a strong feeling that it is a girl.

The 16 year old N'Gayla is a calm and experienced mother. This is her third young, of which her first successfully grew up and, in the meantime, has been moved to another zoo to provide the gorilla group with some "fresh blood".

The second young of N'Gayla, the 4.5 year old N'Aika, still lives in the Arnhemse gorilla group and is very interested in the new arrival. Hopefully, N'Aika will learn this way in a natural way from her mother how you have to handle a gorilla baby so that she once day can become a successful gorilla mother.

The little gorilla is, in the meantime, regularly visible and has already been captured loads of times on photo.

On Wednesday, 21 October 2009, Dr. ir. Hand de Iongh is going to provide you with a reading "Is the African lion a problem" (Is de Afrikaanse leeuw een problem).

On Wednesday, 18 November 2009, Albert Vliegenhart on behalf of the butterfly foundation is asking for attention for butterlfies and dragonflies.

Both readings are held in dutch and start at 19h30. For annual subscription holders the readings are free, other interested parties pay EUR 2,50 per person (starting from 19h00). You do need to register via info@burgerszoo.nl or by phone on 0031 (0)26 - 445 03 73.

An asian lion has been born at Blijdorp Zoo. The sex of it is not known yet. A second cub unfortunately did not appear to be viable. The cub is very welcome as the asian lion is much more threatened than the african lion at the moment. There are only a couple of hundred of them in the Gir reserve in India. Blijdorp is the only zoo in The Netherlands with Asian lions.

Mother Shantee already provided Blijdorp with a dutch premiere in 2006 when she gave birth to two cubs.

Soon it will be possible to view unique webcam pictures of the 'making of' the birth. You will be able to see that on the Blijdorp website or on youtube.